One More Time!
by lady.grae
Summary: Doctor Who/Torchwood Crossover. A mysterious girl shows up in Torchwood. Is she who she claims to be? How will Jack react?
1. Meet the New Girl

A/N: Thank you, melhrain, for pointing out that Ianto's name is spelled with an 'I' instead of a 'Y.'

Disclaimer: If I really did own Torchwood, Owen wouldn't be as much of an ass, and Jack would get more than he already does.

One More Time!

Chapter One: Meet the New Girl.

--o--

"What in the bloody _hell_?" Owen spun around as the intruder alarms went off. Gwen and Tosh looked on in shock as Ianto dashed for a gun. Without pausing, he aimed it at the girl who had suddenly appeared on the second-story overhang. She was sitting on the edge, her legs hanging over the 20 foot drop to the floor of the hub.

Without taking her eyes off of the girl, Toshiko killed the alarm and activated the intercom. "Jack," she said slowly, "I think you should come up here."

No one moved as they waited for Jack, except for the girl. She calmly kicked her feet back and forth as she watched Ianto, no expression at all on her face.

--o--

Taking the stairs two at a time, his long coat flaring around his legs, Jack rounded the last corner to see the near-frozen tableau. He looked from one team member to the next, coming to a stop at Ianto. "Ianto," he began, "why are you pointing a gun at …" his gaze followed the angle of the gun, and he propped his hands on his hips. "A little girl?" His eyes narrowed as she pushed herself off of the ledge. Tosh gasped as she fell, but her jaw clicked shut when she landed softly, a slight bend in her knees the only outward sign of her jump.

Jack cocked an eyebrow as he got a better look at her. Still small, but clearly _not_ a child. Flame-red curls that tumbled nearly to her waist, a fully-curved figure with piercing green eyes, she looked to be around eighteen – nineteen, tops.

She looked straight at Jack, trapping his gaze with her own. The corner of her mouth twitched with what _might_ have been a smile if her eyes weren't completely dead. She tilted her head to the right. "We meet again, Jack Harkness." Her voice sounded like her body looked – low and sensual.

"What?"

Jack raised a hand to cut off Gwen's outburst, never taking his eyes off of the strange girl. "First off, it's _Captain_ Jack Harkness, and second, it's only 'we meet _again'_ if we already _have._ Which we haven't." His eyes roamed from her face to her feet and back, smirking as he paused at the … ahem … _obvious_ spots. "I would _definitely_ remember."

Owen rolled his eyes and Gwen groaned.

"Trust Jack to find a way to flirt," Tosh mumbled.

"Hey!" Jack glared at them over his shoulder. He pointed at Tosh. "And don't try to pull off that 'I'm innocent' look, I know it was you." Turning back to the girl, he paused. He didn't know how eyes that dead could seem to be looking _in._

She blinked and again focused on him. "Pardon. Again for me. _Before_ for you."

He crossed his arms, no longer playing. "Who are you?"

"I am the Archive." Her statement fell into the silence like a stone into a still pool. She dropped the sensual flavor from her voice, leaving only a quiet seriousness.

Surprise flashed across Jack's features, swiftly replaced by anger. He stalked towards her. "Don't play games with me, little girl." His voice contained barely suppressed rage. "Don't you dare pretend to be one of _them_. There aren't any left." His hand shook as he pointed at her, inches away from her face. His words were clipped, forced out through clenched teeth. "Don't. You. Dare."

Her eyes didn't change, but Jack thought he saw the tiniest shift in her expression. A touch of … desolation? "All of them?" she whispered, soft enough that Jack could barely hear her, despite being close enough to touch her. "Everyone? It felt so empty, but _all_ of them?"

Jack was floored by her reaction. Was it possible? He shook his head abruptly. _No,_ he told himself firmly. If there were any others still alive He would know.

"Now I don't know who the _hell_ you really are, but you can cut the shit and drop the act _now_. There are _none left._ Not _one._ And I sure as _hell_ don't appreciate you barging in here claiming to be what you aren't." He hoped like hell she wouldn't catch the lie, because then he'd have to explain about Him. And he _really_ didn't want to think about Him right now.

Not when a tiny little voice in the back of his mind sometimes whispered that maybe he should have stayed …

"But how …" she whispered. "How could …" He narrowed his eyes as he saw a faint tremor in her fingers.

"Jack …" He could hear the warning in her voice. His team wasn't going to be patient with him for too much longer. He knew they'd be wanting answers, and soon.

"Not now, Toshiko."

"Would you like to tell _us_ what's going on?"

"Not _now,_ Gwen." He glared at Gwen over the girl's shoulder.

The girl was looking around at the others now. _That's odd,_ he though. She looked surprised that there were other people in the room. _She got here _before_ I did. Why does it look like she's seeing them for the first time?_

Suddenly she froze, staring at Gwen.

"What?" Gwen asked nervously.

"You know Gallifreyan …" she mumbled.

"I know what?" Gwen took a cautious step back as the girl stumbled towards her.

Jack lunged for her, grabbing her bare wrist. _-Zap!-_ He snatched his hand away at the jolt that ran through him the instant that he touched her skin.

She froze.

"What was that?" he demanded, shaking his hand. "What did you just do?"

She rounded on him, her eyes blazing with fury. "You _lied_ to me!" she hissed. "How _dare_ you!"

He paled instantly. "How do you know that? What the _hell_ did you just do?" he asked again, shocked at the sudden change in her.

"I'm the _Archive_, you stupid human! Did you honestly think you could keep something like that from _me?_ How _dare_ you!" She slapped him. Hard.

"Hello!" Owen called out, waving his hand. "Not to interrupt your fun, but would either of you two like to clue the rest of us in?"

She turned her head slowly, her eyes pinning him like a hawk. "That depends," bringing the seductive tone back to her voice, "on what you already know."

"Oy!" he squawked. "That bloody _hurt!_"

She was frozen again. Jack hadn't even seen her move. She'd disappeared from in front of him, and touched Owen's face a split second after he noticed that that was where she had gone.

"_Nothing,_" she spat. She turned to Tosh.

"Hey!" Jack called out, too late.

"_Nothing._"

Out of the corner of his eyes, he saw Ianto bringing up the gun. "Ianto! No!"

But he didn't have a chance to fire it. He rocked back in shock as she stood frozen before him. He raised his hand to his cheek as he asked, "what are you?"

"_Nothing!_" She gave him a disgusted look as she turned, but paused when Tosh spoke.

"An _archive_. Literally, an archive. You're absorbing our memories. Our thoughts."

She stared at Tosh.

"I'm right, aren't I? You're _absorbing_ our _thoughts._"

"No." Jack was surprised. Her voice was even. Calm. How could she change so quickly? He could barely keep up. Not even He switched modes _that_ fast. "Not thoughts. Only knowledge."

She turned to look past Jack, at Gwen.

"_No,_" he demanded. "You leave her alone."

"Dammit!" He spun, glaring at her as she stood behind Gwen, fingers raised. "_No!"_

"No, Jack," Gwen spoke firmly. "This is my choice now." She turned her back on him, facing the girl.

"_Gwen!_" he called.

"This is _my_ choice." She raised her hand, mirroring the Archive's gesture, and reached out.

The girl tipped her head to the side and paused. "Very well." She held her own hand still.

_What?_ Jack thought. They were _both_ frozen. Then they relaxed simultaneously and he saw what had happened. Gwen had laced her fingers between the girl's and held on, so that the shock _didn't_ push her away. And she still hadn't let go.

"You poor child." Her voice was odd, _distant_ somehow, her accent stronger. "Traveled so far, you have, so many places, and come home to horror… Come home to war… You saw your world destroyed, and all of them gone…" She shook her head, staring at the girl. "The things you've seen…" She pulled her hand away and staggered back. "… the Lords of Time." (1) Jack caught her as she fell, still staring at the girl in shock. "What _are_ you?"

Jack's head whipped up, and he stared at the girl himself. They'd _both_ asked that question. In perfect unison. He noted in the back of his mind that she, too, had taken several steps back, and was now pressed against the window of his office, staring back at Gwen.

"How did you do that?" she demanded, fear in her voice. "What did you _do?_" Her knees buckled and she slid to the floor. "_What are you?_" she asked weakly.

--o--

**A/N: **

**(1)** A dozen virtual chocolate chip cookies to the whoever gets that reference. :)

**Jack**: Is it still a crossover if you're crossing a spin-off with its parent show?

**lady.grae**: Yup. So says melhrain, the Ultimate Authority.

**Owen**: A crossover? Like with the rift?

**lady.grae**: Not quite.

**Ianto**: So is there going to be a pairing in this, or what?

**lady.grae**: Why? Do you one in mind?

**Ianto**: -_blushes_- Umm…

**lady.grae**: Hmmm? -_snickers_-

**Jack**: Ooo! Ooo! I do! I do!

**lady.grae**: -_smacks Jack_- Of course _you_ do!

**Jack**: -_pouts_-

**lady.grae**: -_mysteriously_- You shall see. All shall be revealed in Time.

**Jack**: -_groans_- You just _had_ to say that, didn't you.

**lady.grae**: -_grins madly_- What's the point of a crossover if I can't make bad jokes?


	2. Who is Gwen?

**A/N:** Wow. Three reviews in less than two and a half hours. Cool.

Thank you, melhrain, Pikkuinen, geek'd, and GossipGirl17 for pointing out that Ianto's name is spelled with an 'I' instead of a 'Y.' I knew that, really I did. Or at least I _thought_ I did. Maybe I should have checked the credits again . . . Anyway, I went back and fixed it for you.

And Koochielala gets the cookies for noticing that Gwen's little psychic moment was Gwyneth in Dr. Who 'The Unquiet Dead.'

Disclaimer: If I really did own Torchwood, Tosh would get up the guts to ask Owen out, and Jack would get even more than he already does.

One More Time!

Chapter Two: Who is Gwen?

--o--

"Tosh, come here and help Gwen. I need to speak with our guest." He stood and moved over to me.

"Shall I just get the tea?" Ianto asked. Jack shook his head. "Coffee, then?"

Jack didn't take his eyes off of me. "Alone."

"Ah … well then …" He seemed to deflate.

_Now_ he looked over his shoulder. "There is something you _could_ do for me."

"Yes?"_Wow. He's like a puppy._

"You can put that away." Jack point to the gun that was still in Ianto's hand.

"Oh." Ianto looked at the gun in his hand and quickly put it down.

"Thank you. Now I'd like all of you," he looked at the others, "to go back to work." He watched each one of them as they gave their assent, then turned back to me. He held his hand out to me. "Now are you going to shock me again, or would you like a hand up?"

I looked up at him, this human that the Teacher had wanted nothing to do with when we met him, and wondered why I didn't feel the same distaste. I placed my hand in his. "It only happens once."

Before I let him lead me away, however, I laid my hand on the window. On the graceful circles and arcs that are Gallifreyan script. "Who wrote this?"

"I don't know," he answered softly, his hand still holding mine. "There's a rift here, a hole in time and space …"

"I know," I murmured. "It pulled me off course and dropped me here."

He paused. I didn't look back, but I was sure he was giving me an odd look. "Anyway," he continued, "this came through the rift."

"You put it here," now I turn, my fingers still touching the delicate writing, "but you didn't know what it was?"

He looked at me, considering. "I recognized it, but I didn't know what it was _called_."

"It's …" He cut me off gently.

"We should talk about this inside."

I nodded absently and let him pull me away.

--o--

Owen and Tosh gave each other their standard 'what-the-hell?' and 'how-the-hell-should-I-know?' looks.

"I'm sure … he'll tell us …"

They both gave Ianto a 'yeah-right.'

"I'll just … ah … watch the door, then…" he mumbles.

Tosh and Owen turned their attention back to Gwen.

--o--

I blink and shake my head. _Okaay,_ I ask myself, _why am I on the floor, and why are Tosh and Owen staring at me?_ I close my eyes and rub my head. _And why have I got one hell of a headache?_

"Are you all right?" Tosh asks me.

"What happened?" I groan. "Did something hit me?" I push myself up, so I'm sitting. My head is spinning. "Ow."

"You don't remember?" Tosh looks worried.

"Remember what? What knocked me out?"

"You weren't knocked out." Owen kneels in front of me. "Let me see your eyes."

"Hey!" I pull back as he shines a light in my eyes.

"Well, no concussion." He runs his fingers across my skull.

"Ow! Stop that!" I try to push him away. "Didn't you just say that I _wasn't_ knocked out?"

He ignores me, standing and pulling me up after him. "Come on," he says, steering me in the direction of the medical area.

Tosh follows along behind us. "What's the last thing you remember?"

"There was a girl." The headache is making it hard to think. "You said she was an … archive?" I look at Tosh. I'm sitting on the table. _When did I get here?_

Tosh looks at Owen, then back to me. "Do you remember what happened after that?"

"Jack was yelling something …" I shake my head carefully. The pain is getting worse.

"Do you remember anything else?" Her voice is fading. "Gwen? Do you remember anything else?"

The light is too bright, it's burning my eyes. I put my hand up, trying to block it out.

"Gwen?" Owen's voice now. He's trying to pull my hand down.

"No … don't … It's too bright …"

And then the light explodes.

--o--

**A/N:**

**Owen: ** Hey! I thought you were going to tell us who Gwen is?

**lady.grae**: Gwen is Gwen, silly boy.

**Archive**: Well_I'd_ like to know who she is.

**lady.grae**: You have to wait with the rest of them.

**Archive**: -pouts- I'm supposed to be special.

**lady.grae**: They don't know who _you_ are yet, why should I tell you who _she_ is?

**Jack**: Hey, you're cute when you pout.

**Everyone** (except Gwen, who's passed out): _Jack!_

**Jack**: What? C'mon, can't I flirt with _anybody?_

**Everyone** (except Gwen, who's _still_ passed out): _No!_

**Jack**: -pouts-

**Archive**: Hey, you're cute when you pout.

**lady.grae**: Gawd, you two. Get a room.

**Archive & Jack**: Really?

**lady.grae**: NO! Now stop it or I won't write your next part!

**Archive & Jack**: -pouts-


	3. We Were Children Then

**A/N:** Up to seven reviews! Yippee! That's two more than my first story got!

Disclaimer: If I really did own Torchwood, Ianto would grow a spine, and did I mention that Jack would get way more than he already does?

One More Time!

Chapter Three: We Were Children Then

--o--

"Where is he?"

Jack watched her as she idly traced the whorls on the window. "I don't know." He poured himself a scotch. "Would you like a drink?"

"No, thank you. I'm underage."

Jack choked. "You're _what?_" He stared at her.

She pushed aside his books and sat on the windowsill, her back to the rest of the hub, and ran her fingers through her hair. "How old do I _look"_

He set his drink on the desk and dropped into his chair. He watched her for a moment and thought. "If you were a human – which you're_not_ – I'd say eighteen or nineteen."

"That's about right. I _am_ nineteen."

He laughed. "What, nineteen years in this form and you look like_that?_ I'm impressed."

She gave him an odd look. "Yes, nineteen years in this form, but not like you think."

He sipped at his drink and waited.

"This is my _first_ body."

He spluttered. _Dammit!_ He thought as he choked. "You did that on purpose!"

She smiled innocently. "Did what?"

He coughed pointed at her threateningly. "You … you …"

Her smile grew as she stood and leaned over his desk. "Tsk. Tsk. The great Jack Harkness – excuse me, _Captain_ Jack Harkness – brought low by a swallow of scotch."

He glared at her, and she grinned back. Then he paused. "_Wait_ a minute. Did you just say that this is your _first_ body? You mean you really _are_ nineteen?"

She leaned closer. "What, did you think we just sprang from the Void fully formed? That we were never children?"

He smirked over the edge of his glass. "So you're just a _baby_ Time Lord." He laughed as she blushed and sputtered. _That got your back up, did it?_ He rocked back in his chair and propped his feet up on the desk.

She leaned on the side of the desk, looking at the variety of odds and ends in the room. "So how did you end up here?" She picked up a pen and began toying with it. "You're not from this planet _or_ this time."

He looked at her, confused. "I thought you would already know that." He waggled his fingers at her. "Didn't you absorb all that when I touched you?"

She scooted up on the desk and pulled one leg up against her chest. She watched the pen as it rolled around her fingers. "It takes a while to sort it all out. With you …" She shook her head absently. "You were so focused on him that _knowledge of_ him was the very first thing that I caught. The others … They have far shorter lives. It'll still take a little bit for my memory to sort through it, but it was easy to see that they knew nothing of Time Lords."

The pen stilled as she peered at him out of the corner of her eyes. "You don't tell them very much, do you?"

He looked down at the glass as he ran the tip of one finger around one edge. "No." He tossed back the last swallow and set the glass on the desk as he stood. Moving around the opposite side of the desk from where she perched, he leaned his arm on the window, watching his team at work.

"There's too much out there …" His voice firmed up. "They don't need to know."

He heard a click as she set the pen back down. "Your team, your call," she murmured as she walked to the door. She paused, her hand on the door frame. "But you can't keep them children forever."

As the door closed behind her he closed his eyes and rested his head on his fist.

"I know."

--o--

Lying on the table, Gwen twitched, as if she was dreaming. A dream or a nightmare.

--o--

Through the darkness something is moving.

Something restless.

A whisper echoes around it.

"No. Not yet."

The child's whisper is soothing.

"It is not yet Time."

It obeys her command and rests.

--o--

The Archive stood at the top of the stairs that circled down to where Gwen lay. Her face impassive, she rested a hand on the rail and watched silently as Gwen's nightmare subsided. Until she lay still.

--o--

**A/N:**

**Owen:** Hey! How come I'm not in this one?

**lady.grae:** Cuz you're not.

**Owen:** Why, you!

**Tosh:** -grabs Owen- Owen!

**Ianto:** At least you two were in the last one!

**lady.grae:** -sweetly- What's wrong, Ianto? Not getting enough?

**Ianto:** -splutters-

**Jack:** -grins-

**Owen & Tosh:** -choke on their coffee-

**Archive:** -smirks-

**lady.grae:** -smacks them all and laughs- _Screen time_, you guys! Get your heads out of the gutter!

**Jack:** -whines- But I like it down here…

**Everyone** (except Gwen, who is – you guessed it! – _still_ passed out): Jack!

**Jack:** -pouts-


	4. Dreams and Manifestations

**A/N:** Woohoo! Eight reviews! (C'mon guys, I know you can do better than that. Eight reviews for almost nine hundred hits?)

Disclaimer: If I really did own Torchwood, Gwen would decide that sure, she really _could_ handle two men in her life, and there would be lots and lots more for Jack.

One More Time!

Chapter Four: Dreams and Manifestations

--o--

The Archive dreams.

--o--

_Coming home to fire. The Teacher dragging me to the Untempered Schism. _(1)

'_Look! Look quickly! There isn't much Time left!'_

_Frightened. This wasn't supposed to happen. Not yet. I'm not eight yet! Teacher?_

'_Do it! Hurry! There isn't any more Time!'_

--o--

_I look._

_I fall …_

_What's there …?_

_Who's there …?_

_Who are you?_

_Who am I?_

_I'm Maya._

_Maya is only a name. Who are you?_

_I don't know._

_Look inside. What do you see?_

_Inside?_

_Who are you, Inside?_

_Inside? I see …_

_What do you Want?_

_I want …_

_Knowledge._

_I want to know._

_What do you want to know?_

_I want to know … everything._

_Who are you?_

_I am …_

_I am …_

_The Archive._

_--o--_

_Falling backwards, the Teacher catching me._

_Screaming. Fire._

_Holding my shoulders. Pulling and pushing me back to his TARDIS._

_Explosions everywhere. Everything is burning._

_Stopping at the door. Why? Teacher? What is happening?_

_Hands on my face._

… **the world fragments … sights … sounds … flashing through me … nothing matches … too much … **

_Opening my eyes. Seeing him smiling._

'_Be safe, child.'_

_Falling backwards, through the doors._

'_Be safe …'_

_No! Teacher!_

_Flame engulfing him._

_Come with me!_

--o--

"_Come with me!"_

I stared at the room around me. _This isn't the TARDIS. Where?_

I shook my head and the fog cleared.

Torchwood.

Jack.

_I haven't had that nightmare in _years. _Why now?_

I pulled my knees to my chest and wrapped my arms as tight as I could around my legs.

Suddenly a blanket was wrapped around my shoulders. "Do you want to talk about it?"

I'm not surprised, somehow I knew that Jack was there. That he'd been there through the whole nightmare. Because of this I wasn't afraid. I turned in to his embrace and clutched his shirt as I sobbed. "The Teacher … _my_ Teacher … he …"

"Shh." He held me close, rubbing my back, soothing me until the wracking sobs eased. When they did, he started to pull away.

"No! No, please! Don't leave me alone!"

"Shh. I won't." He shifted me so that I was sitting on his lap, and cradled me against his chest. He slowly stroked my hair as I calmed, patiently waiting for me to speak.

"It was …" I coughed and tried again. "It was the last time I saw Gallifrey, the last time I saw my Teacher. Everything was burning. He touched me … he _knew_ I had just become the Archive. He_knew_ it would shock me, absorbing all of his knowledge at once. Before I could shake it off he pushed me into his TARDIS. I looked out at him as I tried to stand. I was only seven, I'd never done it before. I didn't know what had happened.

"I called to him. 'Why aren't you coming? Why are you just standing there?'

"He just smiled and activated the doors. From the outside.

"'No!' I cried. 'Let me out!' But the doors were locked, I couldn't get them to open.

"Then the engines started." My voice broke. "I ran to the controls, but I wasn't tall enough to reach them.

"I watched …" I couldn't continue.

"Shh," he repeated. "It's all right, you don't have to say it. It's all right now."

He held me close, soothing me, until the last fragments of the nightmare that was my past subsided.

--o--

**A/N**:

**(1)** I got the name from Dr Who Season 3 ep 12 The Sound of Drums. Pretty much everything I know about Gallifrey comes from that episode.

**Owen:** How come those two are the only ones getting any action?

**lady.grae:** Because you're boring.

**Jack:** Ooo. Zing!

**lady.grae:** And because I still haven't figured out what to do with Gwen.

**Everyone** (including Gwen this time, because hey, even if she _is_ still passed out – which she is – she still wants to know): _What!?_

**lady.grae:** -_slaps hands over mouth_- Did I say that out loud?

**Everyone:** Yes!

**lady.grae:** Oops. -_waves hands around_- Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain!

**Everyone** (except Jack & Archive): -_groans_-

**Jack & Archive:** -_confused_- I don't get it.

**lady.grae:** -_looks at Jack_- You lived through the '90's and you don't get that?

**Jack:** -_still confused_- Get what?

**lady.grae:** -_shakes her head and sighs_- If you don't already know, explanations won't help.

**Archive:** -_sticks her tongue out at Jack_-

**Jack:** Hey! You didn't get it either!

**Archive:** -_primly_- _I_ wasn't supposed to.

**lady.grae:** I swear to god, if you two don't knock it off I _won't_ make you a pairing.

**Archive:** -_blushes_-

**Owen:** -_smirks_-

**Jack:** What? _Hey!_


	5. Dreams and Revelations

**A/N:** It's been FOREVER since my last update, partly because I got whammed by school – but mostly because I really DIDN'T know what to do with Gwen. (wince) The story just kind of wandered off-course from where I had expected it to go. But then, that tends to happen with the stuff I write.

Thank you Jessa7 for pointing out to me that 19 IS over the legal drinking age in the UK. While freely admitting that I didn't bother checking that before I wrote the chapter (yes, I'm in the U.S., where the minimum age is 21), I choose to hide behind the claim that the Archive didn't know the legal drinking age either, and was either deliberately trying to get a rise out of Jack or was going off of information from a different society. Yes, she had already "touched" everyone, but as she stated in his office, it takes time for her to absorb the information and make sense of it.

Disclaimer: Yadda yadda, Jack needs to get more…

One More Time!

Chapter Five: Dreams and Revelations

--o--

The archive stands again at the railing, watching the woman sleep. Something about her is calling… calling… But calling what? "Was it the rift that pulled me here?" she asks softly. "Or was it you? You don't know what you are. Do I?" She shakes her head. "No. I don't think anyone knows what you are. Not yet."

--o--

I open my eyes and see only darkness. "Where am I?" I ask uneasily. The last thing I remember is Owen and a flashlight. Looking down I realize that I can see myself, as if I were standing in a lighted room – but there is still nothing around me. Only darkness.

"What's happened?" I call out, louder now. "What is this place?"

_You don't know?_

I spin around and see a child standing in front of me, with tumbled blond curls and piercing blue eyes. "What's going on here?" I ask, stumbling backwards from the child. She, too, appears to be lit normally, although there still isn't anything around us.

The little girl's brows knit. _How can you be here if you don't know?_ she asks me. Somehow I can hear her, even though she doesn't seem to be speaking out loud. _No matter_, she adds softly. _You are here now._

She stands up straighter, seeming to focus even more attention on me – how, I don't know – and speaks again. This time her lips move, although the sound of her voice does not change. _"I cannot answer questions, only ask them. If you do not know your answers, I cannot give them to you."_

I pause for a moment, considering what she has said. "So if I have an answer, you can tell me the question?" I ask. "That seems odd."

She smiles faintly. _"What is your name?"_ she asks softly.

"My name is Gwen, but that doesn't tell me anything that I don't already know. Where am I?"

"_How did you come here?"_

"How should I know?" I'm getting a little impatient now. "How can I learn anything if all you do is ask _questions_?"

"_What happened? How did you come here?"_ Her tone hasn't changed. She tips her head to the side, eyes twinkling. Anger is growing inside of me.

"How should I know?" I demand louder. "There was just this stupid bloody _light_, and some _girl_…" my voice trails off as she smiles and steps closer, going up on her tip toes to whisper in my ear.

"_One last question for you, then. Have you met my sister?"_

I pull back from her in shock, eyes wide – then cry out in surprise as I _fall_…

…_fall_…

…and open my eyes to see the ceiling of the hub.

--o--

"She's back!" Owen raced down the stairs and stopped in front of Gwen. "How are you feeling?" he asked, glancing at the monitors around her. "Headache?"

"What? No." Her voice is subdued, but I don't hear pain. I'm glad. I don't know what happened to her, but it had upset me to think she was in pain because of me. I can't even face her - that's why I'm hiding in Jack's office, staring at the glass of scotch he left on his desk when he left to check on Gwen. Everyone is down there now. Everyone except Ianto, who disappeared this morning, saying he'd 'watch the door,' or something like that.

"It took me eleven years to assimilate your memories, Teacher," I whisper. "Seven hundred years of knowledge. It got faster as time went by, as I figured out how to work with my instincts instead of against them. How old is Captain Harkness now? How old was he then?

"Those others, a few decades, but him - how many years for him? How long will it take? And _her_," I turn to face the window, listening to the humans scurrying about outside. "I don't even know what I got from her. What did she get from me?

"I sometimes wonder, what would it be like to be the proper Archive? To have received that initial burst from him, instead of you? Oh Teacher, what happened to us? What am I missing?" I swallow, forcing the anger from my voice. Harsh emotions won't help me. Won't help anyone here. "I remember the fire," I whisper. "But I don't know _why_. Why was the planet burning?"

"He said there was a war." I turn to see Jack leaning against the door frame. "The 'last great Time war,' he called it. Between the Time Lords and the Daleks."

"Who won?" I ask, wondering if there could have been a winner, in a war like that. If my people had won, they wouldn't be dead. If the Daleks had won, everything would be dead.

"No one. Everyone lost. The Time Lords and the Daleks destroyed, the walls between the dimensions sealed forever." His voice sounds wistful, as if he misses something.

"Who?" I spin the pen through my fingers again, not daring to look up, fearing his answer. "Who survived?"

"The Doctor."

I stiffen, remembering encounters with him before - then force myself to stop, realizing that _I_ never met him. That those memories are from the Teacher. Who apparently hadn't liked the Doctor. But the 'why' isn't in my memories. And the Teacher didn't like Jack, either. From the moment we first laid eyes on him, he wanted nothing to do with him.

"Why didn't he like you?" I ask abruptly. "The Teacher," I add, at his questioning glance. "From the moment he saw you, he didn't even want to be on the same _planet_. Why?"

Jack grimaced. "_That_ is not my fault," he said, moving to sit behind his desk.

"What isn't?"

"I can't die," he said quietly, watching the door - for all the world as if his own people didn't know. "The Doctor called me a 'fixed point.'"

"Ah," I nod my head in understanding. "That's why."

"Why what?" he asks, cocking an eyebrow as he picks back up his scotch.

"Why he cared and I don't." I smile. "I'm the Archive. My existence is the past. Technically," I muse, "_I'm_ a fixed point.

"So is she," I add, clicking the pen and setting it down. I cock my head towards the door. She's saying something about a dream. I should probably listen, but I'm afraid now. Now that I understand what she is.

--o--

**A/N:**

**Tosh:** Now this is just getting weird.

**ladygrae:** You're not used to weird? I'd think it was a daily occurrence.

**Owen:** Rift-weird, yes. Stealing-memories weird, no.

**ladygrae****:** Ah, well. Sorry. You'll just have to get used to it.

**Tosh:** Get _used_ to it?

**Gwen:** Hey, if I have to get used to voices in my head, you can get used to having a Time Lord around.

**Ianto:** A what?

**ladygrae****:** Weren't you paying attention? The Archive is a Time Lord.

**Jack:** To be fair-

**Owen:** -_mumbles_- Who wants to be?

**Jack:** I heard that. To be _fair_, we never actually said she was a Time Lord.

**ladygrae****:** Stephy-Lou said it.

**All:** Who?

**ladygrae****:** Stephy-Lou. In the reviews. Geez, you guys, you don't even read what people are saying about you? Sigh.


End file.
